Independent confusion of sorts!

The independence was day was a mixed bag for me, with emotions running amok.

 

Surveys indicate that my country is the largest democracy in the world. The multi culture, multi ethnicity and multi lingual populace is something I can boast of even while sleeping. The number of billionaires that we can boast of is increasing by the day. Indian firms are buying out “FIRANGI” companies with ease. Wow!! The effects of being a red hot economy. I almost go into a certain feeling of elation.

 

But the negatives of my motherland drag me down. We still are a country where hunger deaths are a common occurrence. We have rotting grains on one hand and dying masses on the other. So much for the economic muscle of the country. We have a democracy that is vibrant. Yeah! Vibrant on all fronts... We have thugs, corrupts, thieves, murderers as our representatives in the government. Strange as it may sound, I am not sure if I should lift my head high due the amount of corruption that is engulfing the ironic Common Wealth Games (Ironic because the participating countries are all capitalistic). I have to hold my head high because it is us who elected the corrupts and it is no wonder that the corruption has crept into everything. In short, target achieved. We are a land that allows its citizens to be plundered without a proper compensation (read Bhopal tragedy!). We are a land which favours inheritance based rule.

 

But why am I complaining? Am I really doing something about it? Nope. Nothing. I remain a stupid citizen. With no means to vent out and no means to work towards it. With no idea as how to proceed in my mission to get the country back to a decent quality of life. Corruption and incompetence of everybody around biting my conviction that something good will happen, I remain silent... There is no end to this dichotomy I feel. It too, shall pass in the annals of my time.

 

Dear India, most of us are your selfish children. We don’t care a hoot about fellow people. Me, mine and myself – This is my motto. My patriotism raises when I listen to my countrymen being targeted outside the country. When Kashmir is debated and when India plays Pakistan for cricket. I complain a lot about how everything could be better and minutes later, frenzy dies and I become my selfish old self.

 

Am sorry!

All about my divine hymn!

Most of the day, I think about her. She is sweet and cute. In fact, I have never found anyone even coming close to these attributes.

It all began around one and half years back when I first met her. No, it was not raining and there were no thunderstorms. Nothing like that. The weather was actually very pleasant. The sun just about his business of warming up the day and I think i heard the birds tweeting too. But these were drowned by the occasional horns from vehicles passing by. The location was on the main road,  you see. After making me wait for a couple of hours, she finally arrived.

My initial expression was speechless. Not many people blink on the first meet. Either they choose to look away or stare at the face. But this one was different. She chose to blink at me. And then a yawn. And then she came to me.

And this changed everything!

She then came home to stay with me :) Everything at home took a backseat. The TV was no more interesting. The internet was so boring. What was more interesting was each coo from her. Her yawns and the expressions that filled her face when she saw me. Life is so colored. Presenting itself to me in one form.

Most of my thoughts are about her. Thinking about her makes me smile. A day doesnt pass without talking to her on phone atleast for 4-5 times. She first called me "Thathap". The sweetness was such that I wanted to change my name to that. Then it changed to Appu, Appaji and whatever came to her. :) I am fine with everything.

Furry things are her mates. The rolling of her eyes whenever "theddy" is sighted, awesome. She walks in with 4 of her huge furry friends and demands that I pamper each one them with equal measure... Man! never knew when my patience limit stretched. I have started dancing to the rhyme "Clap your Hands" with her.

Thanks to her, I am having a rocking time as her dad!!
Love you Shloka!

Wheels within wheels!!!

"Kaupeena samrakshanardham ayam patatopam" - My dad used to tell me this story many times. The way he tells it is very interesting. It sort of shows that PG Wodehouse's statement "Know my friend, there are wheels within wheels" is very true and that humans can never limit their desires.

There was a sage in a nice village bordering a river bank. All peaceful and wonderful, this sage loves meditating under a big tree on the river bank. Attaining nirvana is his only aim in life. However, there is a problem. No, it was never about a house or a hut or food or anything unnecessarily material, he has only two loin clothes and there were a lot of rats in the area. Each time, he used to go bathing, the rats destroyed one of his only worldly possessions.

The sage visits the village for alms the next day and looking at the forlorn face, the villagers ask him the problem. "Rats", he says. "They just dont let me meditate". The villagers advice him to buy a cat. "Cats are good hunters of mice", they said. The cat did a wonderful job. But the cats also wanted milk.

The sage visits the village for alms the next and looking at the forlorn face, the villagers ask him the problem. "Cats", he says. "They need milk and I dont know how to get them". The villagers advice him to buy a cow. "Cow solves your problems", they said. The cow was good. Cows gave milk and milk kept cats happy and cats ate mice and sage was happy. But... the cows needed grass to eat and forest food was not right.

The sage visits the village for alms the next and looking at the forlorn face, the villagers ask him the problem. "Cows", he says. "They need grass and I dont know where to get it". The villagers advice him to get some land and help him procure some. "Grow your grass and feed the cow", they said. The grass and land were good. Land gave grass and cows gave milk and milk kept cats happy and cats ate mice and sage was happy. But... who should tend the grass and feed the cow.

The sage visits the village for alms the next and looking at the forlorn face, the villagers ask him the problem. "Land", he says. "To tend a grass, i need a helper and I dont know how to get it". The villagers advice him to get married and helped him find a nice girl and get married. "Share your time between prayer and work", they said. Wife was good. She helped in work and land gave grass and cows had grass and gave milk and milk kept cats happy and cats ate mice and sage was happy. But... how should the wife bide her time during penance.

The sage visits the village for alms the next and looking at the forlorn face, the villagers ask him the problem. "Wife", he says. "She tends to get bored when I am not with her. How do I keep her happy?" The villagers advice him to have kids. "Kids will keep your wife occupied", they said.

 

Kids, they never allowed him to meditate at all :)

Somewhere, it all comes back to the starting point.

"OM POORNAMADAH POORNAMIDAM POORNAAT POORNAMUDACHYATE POORNASYA POORNAMAADAAYA POORNAMEVAAVASHISHYATE"